“Bird of Paradise” Bag

Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy 

New Year in Barcelona

Wishing you blessings and peace in your heart

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa

May this New Year be your best yet…

With love, 

Armen

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“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”

- Haruki Murakami 

In 1941, American photographer Philippe Halsman met the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí in New York City and they began to collaborate in the late 1940s. The 1948 work Dali Atomicus explores the idea of suspension, depicting three cats flying, water thrown from a bucket, an easel, a footstool and Salvador Dalí all seemingly suspended in mid-air. The title of the photograph is a reference to Dalí’s work Leda Atomica (at that which can be seen in the right of the photograph behind the two cats.) Halsman reported that it took 28 attempts to be satisfied with the result. This is the unretouched version of the photograph that was published in LIFE magazine. In this version the wires suspending the easel and the painting, the hand of the assistant holding the chair and the prop holding up the footstool can still be seen. 

“Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature. Never try to correct them. On the contrary: rationalize them, understand them thoroughly. After that, it will be possible for you to sublimate them.” -Salvador Dali

Banksy

Cardinal Sin

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Born on this in 1930, one of my favorite filmmakers: Jean Luc Godard

“Why must one talk? Often one shouldn’t talk, but live in silence. The more one talks, the less the words mean” -Jean Luc Godard

it’s the little things

As an artist, certain artists that walk among us can reaffirm the reason we do what we do. It’s easy to get lost. You spend your life searching and searching…in my case, for sound. Discovery, application, and refinement. There is no guidebook. However, there are those artists that light the way: Coltrane, Monk, Miles and so on. They possess an ability to bypass the bullshit and strike the core of their aesthetic and build upon that, innovate, and inspire.

Paul Motian was an artist that represented that for me. Beyond the most notable recordings he appeared on, Motian created a lengthy catalogue of beautiful sounds that he left us. I recommend them as highly as any other recording.

I think back fondly to a conversation I had with Charlie Haden about Paul Motian. We spoke after I watched and listened to Charlie play along to the classic Bill Evans recordings that featured Paul & Scott LaFaro. Both Paul and Charlie later went on to one of the greatest ensembles in the history of music with Keith Jarrett. The time I spent with Charlie is among the greatest I have had, and the listening experiences with Paul are as well.

Today we lost a man that is irreplaceable. At 80 years old, Paul Motian lived a life that contributed more than we may ever understand. 

My heart is very heavy this evening. May the memory of Paul and his music comfort us all. 

Armen

 Christoph Niemann, “Dark Spring”

*i LOVE this cover…beautiful!

Ed Ruscha

Vanish, 1972  

oil on linen  20 H x 24 W (inches)